Pepper
by Macey-the-Magical
Summary: Pepper is an abused kittypet, her family lost in a fire, shut up and beat daily. She finally escapes and finds herself at Barley's farm. Afraid for life, she takes refuge there, and falls head over heels for none other than Ravenpaw. Complete! Thanks all!
1. Chapter 1

_*sing-songy voice* IIIIIIIIIIIIII'M BACK!!! YAAAAAAAAY!!!! XD Finally! You guys haven't heard from me in forever! =D So, I had a poll on my profile, if you guys noticed, and it's saying what long story topic I should use next. There's only one vote so far, but I just decided to use the results of that, so don't bother to vote now. XD So here it is: A Raven's Peppered Wing. Macey-the-Invisible's long story NUMBER TWO!!!!_

A Raven's Peppered Wing

Chapter One

An old abandoned household, rotting to the edges, sagged on Windover Hill. At first there is silence; then shouts. Crashes. A small, scrawny mottled brown tabby cat with white paws burst from the piteous house, racing until the reached the edge of the wilted garden.

She glanced back, panting, and slipped into the blackening bushes. Weaving around through them, she didn't eve notice that twigs were pulling at her pelt. _It's already dull anyways,_ the she-cat thought. _Doesn't make a difference._ She sat down by some dried orange flowers that would hide her from her angry housefolk. _What were you thinking, Pepper?_ She could almost hear her deceased mother in her slightly torn ear. _Staying with a human like that? He's a bit loony, I'll tell you that much._

_It's not like I didn't know that much already,_ Pepper argued with herself. She was hit by a sudden pang of homesickness and grief as she realized that was exactly what she would have said. Pepper remembered the last time she saw her family all too well.

~*FLASHBACK*~

_**Fire. Fire everywhere. Where's Momma? Where's Daddy? Where's Pixie?**_

**"Pepper!"**

**Three moon-old Pepper spun around in confusion. "Momma!"**

**"Pepper, here!"**

**The den was on fire. Their precious den was up in flames.**

**She felt someone grab her by the scruff. Her older sister, Pixie.**

**"I've got her, Mother!"**

**"Get her out!"**

**Cracking.**

**"Julianne!" Her father calling her mother's name.**

**"Branch, help! Take Pepper!"**

**"But--"**

**"Take her!"**

**Daddy pulling her away from Momma and Pixie.**

**More cracking. Then a crash. Screams from Momma and Pixie, the breaking of wood and burning of grass, Daddy throwing her out of the inferno...**

**~***END OF FLASHBACK*~

Why didn't they get themselves out, too? Pepper sighed, lost in her guilty memories. She didn't notice the door opening and the massive human lumbering out until he started thrashing the bushes, searching for her. Pepper's eyes widened and she darted from her hiding place. Too late. The human had seen her.

He lunged and grabbed her scruff roughly, yanking her away from the ground and hanging her high in the air as he carried her back inside the pathetic house. Pepper struggled feebly, for she knew what was coming next. No use.

The giant human flung her down on the hard floor of the kitchen. Pepper hit the ground with a thud, grunting in pain. The human started yowling at her in words she could not understand, waving his front legs about and pacing. His eyes bulged, and the veins stood out on his face and neck. He grabbed a long wooden thing **(a spoon)** and raised it over his head. Pepper shut her eyes and braced herself.

Down it went. Pain lanced through her spine. Down again. _Momma..._ Down again, and again, faster now. Down again, and again, and again... The hitting stopped, and Pepper heard the human screeching again. She eased open her eyes. The door was still open, and strength was slowly seeping itself back into her limbs. The human wasn't hitting her (for now), she could make it...

Leaping to her paws, she dashed in between his legs and made haste for the open door. Things the human was throwing crashed around her, but she dodged them nimbly. The human followed her, trying to snatch her up in his front paws. Pepper accelerated, faster, faster, out the door, through the garden, over the fence...

She was out. Pepper screeched to a halt and looked behind her. Through the thick foliage she barely noticed she had run through, the moldy fence was just visible. The yowls of the human still sounded over them, angrier than ever, but Pepper knew that he wouldn't follow her. She kept running, ducking out of the way of low branches and leaves, leaping over roots. She still had to get as far away as possible.

The concept that she was free seemed to creep into Pepper's mind slowly. When, finally, it thoroughly clicked, she stopped. A smile spread itself across her face. She was safe. She'd never have to have anything to do with that terrible human again. A yowl of joy and triumph erupted from her throat, and she pranced around. She knew that she looked silly, but everything was just so right! She'd never have to go back, and he'd never come look for her. She was free!

Suddenly pain pierced into her hind leg, and Pepper collapsed on the ground, writhing in a desperate attempt to get away. Her struggles only made it worse, and she lay still, dread seeping over her. The human had found her! Pepper glanced back, afraid of what she would see. But the angry giant wasn't leaning over her. _Oh no,_ she thought as she realized it was a bear trap. The huge iron jaws clamped over her leg, making it and her immobile. Pepper tried to wiggle free again, but jerks of agony shot through her again, not stopping this time.

"Help!" she shrieked. "Help me, please!"

Silence met her words. "Help!" she yowled again. "Please!" Nothing. Fear joined in with her pain, adding up to some emotion that she never wanted to think about.

A twig snapped behind her and her head snapped up. Pepper started to shake, knowing that it could be a fox, or a badger, or... Her head spun as it conjured up every horrible thing under the sun that could have broken that twig.

"Hello?" Her voice was shaky. No answer, but more rustling as whatever-it-was crept closer. "Who's there?!" Pepper called again in a vain attempt to sound defiant. She jumped as she heard someone behind her exclaim, "What the-- Who are you?"

_IIIIIIIIIT'S......... SOMEBODY THAT I BET YOU HAVE ALREAYD GUESSED BUT I CAN'T TELL YOU ANYWAYS!!! Lol XD That turned out WAY longer than I expected, but I think that I'll have a bunch of fun with this! =D Oh, and another thing: In a way, this is a true story. Pepper is a real kitty. She lives down the road with my neighbors. Who found her in a bear trap in the woods. Who happen to own a barn. And a black cat. Coinky-dink? O.o_

_.................._

_Yeah, it is! Cuz their cat is a girl, and WAY fluffier than I would expect Ravenpaw to be. So, READ AND REVIEW PLEEEEEZZ!!! KTHANXBYE XD_


	2. OMG, FORGOT THE DISCLAIMER

OH MY GOD!! DISCLAIMER!! I forgotz it! =O Sooo sorry!

Disclaimer: If I owned Warriors, Firestar and Spottedleaf would have never even looked at each other, the three would be Squirrelflight's kits, Leafpool would still be in the Clan, and Crowfeather wouldn't be an emotionless zombie. But that's just me, right?

The Amazing Teenage Disappearing Act ~~~ Macey the Invisible (Again, so sorry to everyone who is disappointed that I updated JUST FOR THIS, but I do not want to get sued or something. OH! YEAH! COME GET ME NOW LAWYERS!! XD PSYCH! XD)


	3. The REAL Chapter 2

_YEE-AH!! CHAPPIE TWO!! XD Okay, so I left you guyz wiv a CLIFFIE!!! O.O DUN DUN DUNNN!!! So yeah. Here's the next chappie. So... *awkward glance around* Er... bye. Read now. O.O OOH! ONE MORE THING!! THE 15TH REVIEWER OF THIS CHAPPIE GETS A VIRTUAL PEPPER PLUSHIE!! Okay. Read NOW. ^-^_

A Raven's Peppered Wing

Chapter Two

Pepper twisted around as best she could to see a lanky black tom gaping at her. His big yellow eyes flashed in alarm at her injuries. At first Pepper didn't speak. She couldn't-- and she didn't know why.

"Hello? I said, are you okay?" Pepper jumped. She realized that the tom had been talking to her while she looked at him with her mouth open.

"Oh, um," She was about to say 'yes,' but rethought the situation. She frowned, shaking her head. "No." Pepper winced as another jolt of pain shot up her leg again.

The black cat's eyes filled with understanding. "Well, let me help you. Bear traps are tricky, but they're possible to get out of." With one claw, he held the bottom jaw down and began to pry the contraption open again. Suddenly, with a _sproing_, the jaws bounced apart.

The tom paced around the broken trap that lay on the forest floor and crouched beside her, his face close to her and lined with concern. "That better?" he mewed softly. When she nodded, he continued, "Can you walk, or do you need help?"

"Um, I-I don't know." Pepper tried to stand, precariously holding her injured leg awkwardly out to the side. Her tiny, dirtied paws trembled beneath her, and her three good legs buckled and gave way, sending Pepper down with a small squeal. The tom instantly caught her, supporting her with his flank.

"Well," he meowed, a hint of laughter in his kind voice. "I'll take that as an 'I need help.'" Pepper knew he was trying to cheer her up somehow, so she managed a weak smile.

"My name's Pepper, by the way," she pointed out as the black cat began to walk her along the path he had come from. "You are?"

"Ravenpaw." _Ravenpaw..._

"That's an odd name..." Pepper murmured, then realizing she had just said that out loud. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't--"

"Oh no, it's fine, I... I get that a lot," he mused casually. "See, I was born in a place far away from here, and the cats I lived with had names like that."

Pepper looked at him, confused. "Cats? You lived with other cats? I thought that all cats lived alone, or with humans."

Now it was Ravenpaw's turn to be confused. "Humans?... Oh, you mean Twolegs." Seeing Pepper's blank stare, he laughed and continued, "That what we call them. Or at least what I call them."

Pepper nodded. She realized that she had been unconsciously following Ravenpaw. "Wait," she stopped, wincing slightly again. "Where are we going?" she meowed, doubt edging her tone.

Ravenpaw's eyes flickered in surprise. "You need a place to stay, don't you? I mean, you've obviously been through some pretty rough times," he stated, touching his tail-tip sympathetically to her shoulder, which was scarred with many small cuts the human had inflicted.

Pepper nodded reluctantly. "Yeah, I do need somewhere to stay, but really, you don't have to do anything for me."

Ravenpaw let out a snort of disbelief. "Are you kidding? Look at you! You just got out of a bear trap, and you've got scars and splinters all over you. Not to mention, your fur is all messy." Pepper felt her skin flush hot, and she look away embarrassed. If she'd known that she'd be meeting this new tom today, she probably would have taken the time to wash herself.

Ravenpaw noticed her reaction, and then seemed to notice the hurtfulness of his words. He pressed himself closer. "I'm sorry," he muttered. "I didn't mean it that way. I just think that you could do with a good rest, don't you?" he added, lifting his head.

Pepper looked up at him and smiled. "Yeah, I guess," she admitted. "Thanks."

Ravenpaw smiled too, and resumed walking her down the narrow roadway. Pepper pressed, "So, what is this place I'm staying?"

As she spoke, Ravenpaw ducked though some branches, pushing them away to reveal a beautiful place Pepper had not seen before. Her cloudy brown eyes widened as they took in sweeping moorland, animals of foreign kinds to her, and what looked like a giant red human house. All matter of strange birds pecked around it, and in a far, fenced-in place, giant creatures with sweeping manes and tails thundered over the ground with hard, heavy paws.

"Welcome to the barn," Ravenpaw stated, pausing to look around with her, then starting across the long grass to the 'barn.' "I stay here with my friend, Barley." he continued. "He can be a bit reserved at times, but he's friendly enough to strangers in need." On the last few words, his voice intensified, as if there was more behind what he was saying, but Pepper stayed silent.

"How did you get these scars, anyways?" Ravenpaw inquired darkly, like he was afraid of her answer.

Pepper let out a long sigh. "I'd tell you, but it's a really, _really_ long story. And I mean _really long_." Ravenpaw nodded, understanding shining in his yellow eyes.

"So is mine," he assured her. "I'll tell you if you tell me. But first, we both should get some rest. The sun's already down."

For the first time, Pepper realized how much time had gone by. She'd never really paid attention to the time, just 'wake up, dodge human, scrounge for food, survive beating, crawl to her corner, and sleep.' _Wow..._ she thought as she realized how much she had allowed to slip away.

When she and Ravenpaw reached the barn, her hind leg was throbbing, and she couldn't think of anything more amazing and wonderful than sleep. But before she could collapse onto some of the sweet smelling hay piled inside the barn, a black-and-white shape weaved out around the heaps of yellow straw.

"Who's this, Ravenpaw? A stray?" the cat asked, caution edging his voice. _This must be Barley,_ Pepper thought.

Ravenpaw purred, untouched by Barley's tone. "Barley, this is Pepper. I found her stuck in a trap not far from the path. She got hurt," He glanced hopefully at Pepper then at Barley again. "I told her she could stay here. Is that okay?"

Barley padded toward Pepper and sniffed at her leg. It stopped bleeding a long time ago, and now the remaining blood had dried around the cut. "That does look a bit nasty," he thought out loud. He looked in her direction. "I'll get some stuff for that." Without another word, he disappeared behind the hay piles again.

"What does he mean by 'stuff'?" Pepper asked timidly. Ravenpaw flicked his tail. "Oh, just typical things. Marigold, maybe cobwebs..." He laughed as he saw Pepper's shoulder's twitched uncomfortably. "Don't worry, he knows what he's doing. He's taken care of himself and even me many a time." Ravenpaw gave her a reassuring smile that warmed her from her nose to the tip of her tail.

Later, Pepper lay stretched out, nestled comfortably in the fragrant straw. After Barley had tended to her leg, she had, for once, given herself a thorough wash. She felt so much better afterwards. Her fur _was_ pretty grungy, just as Ravenpaw had pointed out.

_Ravenpaw_. Pepper allowed herself a low, soft murmur. Something about him gave her that old sense of protection that she got from her family. With a small smile, she closed her eyes and began to drift of into the void of sleep. But not before a familiar scent wreathed around her and a warm flank pressed against hers.

_^o^ D'AWWW!!! I cannot WAIT to get to the more romantic parts! So now we've introduced Ravenpaw and Barley, and we're on the road to RavenxPepper! =D *sings with a melodramatic country accent* ON THE ROAD AGAIN!! I CAN'T WAIT TO WRITE THE NEXT CHAPPIE AND GET ON THE ROAD AGAIN!! XD And I'm not really sure, but I MAIGHT have the next chapter in Ravenpaw's POV. Hm... I don't know... Well, anyways, thank you, all my lovely reviewers! =D R&R PLEEZ!! KTHANXBYE XD_


	4. SO SO SOOO SORRY

My Loyal Readers and Reviewers,

Bad news. I probably won't be updating for a while, because I'm going to try to write a book-- not a Warriors book, but a regular book, so I won't have a lot of time on my hands with that and sports and school. BUT, I will try to update in between the chapter that I write in my actual bookie-book. I know this is disappointing, except for sweetcakes101, who evidently hate my writing. So anyways, please don't give up on me forever! I'll try to update as soon as possible! =D

The Amazing Teenage Disappearing Act~~~ Macey-the-Invisible


	5. YAAAY CHAPTER 3!

_Heyaz!! I'm back! Sorry, SORRY I haven't updated in a while, but I was waiting for more reviewers. But I only got 8, since I'm not counting the horrible flame I got. Yeah. I was sad after that one. -.- SO ANYWAYS!!! I've had to limit the plushie-winner to the Number 5 reviewer! _

_And the winner is.... XStormcloudX!!! YAAAAY! *tosses a Pepper plushie out the window and hopes that it lands on Stormy's head.* And a hug for Mistfur, because she wanted a Pepper plushie and asked nicely, but sadly wasn't number five. HUGZ!!! *huggles Mistfur* Hehe. So now, on with the story!!! ^o^_

A Raven's Peppered Wing

Warm sunlight filtered in through the open doors of the barn. Pepper stirred in her nest of sweet hay and blinked in the light. All the events of the past day came rushing back to her like a wave in a storm, and she sighed in relief and thanked the sky above that she was no longer with her human.

A dark shape spun around the corner of a hayloft close to her. Pepper's heart lifted and her fur tingled as she recognized Ravenpaw, the black cat who had rescued her.

Ravenpaw smiled at her and dropped the mouse he was carrying. "Good, you're awake." Picking it up again, he leapt onto the hayloft and nudged it toward her. "This is for you."

Pepper blinked gratefully. "Thanks," she mewed and tore into the mouse. Pausing, she added, "Don't you want any?"

Ravenpaw settled down beside her and shook his head. "No, thanks. I've already eaten. Besides, I've got to keep my mouth open for talking." When Pepper cocked her head, confused, he laughed and explained, "I wanted to tell you the story about my name, and the cats I lived with before I came here. I was hoping we could share stories, but if you don't what to, then--"

"Oh, no," Pepper interrupted. She was interested in what he would have to say. "It's okay. I'd love to hear about that."

Ravenpaw smiled. "All right then. But, I'll warn you, some parts a little..." He narrowed his eyes, as if searching for a word. "...Unnerving." he finished. When Pepper nodded, he began.

"Well, to start, I'd better tell you about the Clans. Beyond this barn, to the south, is a giant forest with moorland, marsh, rivers, and trees. This forest is split evenly between four clans: RiverClan where the water is, ShadowClan in the marsh, WindClan on the sweeping moorland, and ThunderClan in the deepest forest." Ravenpaw paused. "I was in ThunderClan, but something-- someone," he corrected himself. "Threatened my safety there. My own mentor. A mentor is someone who teaches a younger cat to fight and hunt for themselves." Pepper recalled that it was her father who had done that.

"So, my mentor's name was Tigerclaw. He was an amazing warrior, a true fighter and loyal to the warrior code, the rules we had to live by. But he was constantly criticizing me, and hardly taught me anything. I felt like a lost cause all the time. At first it was because he didn't like me, but after our deputy, Redtail, died, it was because I knew something I shouldn't have." He took a deep breath. "Tigerclaw killed him." He glanced at Pepper, who was staring at him with disbelief. "Someone from his own Clan?" she asked timidly. He nodded.

Pepper shivered. "Wow. That's horrible." Ravenpaw nodded. "Yeah," he continued. "And I saw it happen. And Tigerclaw knew. _I_ knew that if I told anybody, Tigerclaw would kill me. So I kept silent for a long time. I was jumpy and nervous and afraid of everything, when I finally told somebody." "Who?" Pepper inquired. Ravenpaw smiled before he answered, like bitter memories were sweeping over him. "One of my best friends. His name was Firepaw then, because he was an apprentice learning under a warrior with me. I told him everything, because once the words came, they couldn't stop. He understood, and agreed to only tell our other best friend, Graypaw."

Anyways, Tigerclaw started hinting to the clan that I was a traitor, when I wasn't. He was trying to get rid of me so his secret would be hidden forever. But he didn't know that Firepaw knew also. If he had known that..." he shuddered. "He would have skinned us both. He'd always hated Firepaw." He continued. "So, as the hints got more frequent, they began to travel about the clan, becoming bigger, forming suspicions, like a spider spinning a web. Firepaw knew it wasn't safe for me anymore, so he quickly told Graypaw and they snuck me out of the camp to this barn. We'd met Barley before, so we weren't strangers to him. Firepaw told me I had to stay here, and that Tigerclaw wouldn't find me here. I believed him. We said goodbye, the three of us, and then they had to run back to the forest before they were completely missed. It was still pouring rain when I got to the barn, and Barley accepted me without hesitation. But I kept thinking about my friends. I realized how much they went through to save me. I still think about that sometimes." Ravenpaw sighed. "They were really great friends." Pepper felt her eyes soften with sympathy and she touched her tail-tip to his shoulder. "I'm sorry." she whispered. "You must miss them." Ravenpaw nodded. "I do."

They sat together in silence for a bit, and then Ravenpaw turned to her. "So that concludes _my_ sob story," Pepper laughed. He smiled and continued, "What's yours?"

Pepper paused. "Well, I lived my family from when I was a kitten to about 4 moons ago," she began. "It was me, my mother, my father, and my older sister, Pixie." Pepper hesitated, and then, to her horror, words came tumbling out of her mouth that weren't true. "We lived in a small forest of our own, and we grew up knowing every nook and cranny of it. My father hunted all animals, even badgers and foxes, and conquered any predator that dared threaten his family." This was a lie. Her father always taught her not to mess with animals like badgers and foxes. "My mother knew everything there was to know about plants and the earth. She even knew how to grow them herself." Not true. Her mother had only known enough basic remedies to save someone from dying. "And Pixie and I were the bravest little cats in the tiny forest of ours. We'd fight beavers in the morning and finish off the day with a snake or two." Pepper stopped herself, determined not to tell any more lies. "Then, one day, when I was older, I..." she paused. "...Wandered off. I was lost in the woods for a long time and... and I got stuck in the trap. And then you found me." She looked up at Ravenpaw. He was staring at her.

"Wow," he meowed. "That's really rough. You must miss your family."

Pepper nodded, shame weighing her heart down into her paws. "Y-yeah. I bet they're looking for me."

Ravenpaw brightened. "Well, we can keep an eye out for them!"

Pepper's head snapped up, her eyes wide. "No, no!" Ravenpaw jumped, his face puzzled. Pepper calmed herself. "Um... the little forest was a _long_ ways from here. I strayed really far. It's probably even farther than your forest."

Ravenpaw nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah, that makes sense, since you've been away from the little forest since four moons ago." Pepper winced. She knew it was a lie, but hearing him repeat it made things worse. It confirmed that he believed her.

He shrugged. "I'm sorry, Pepper. I guess we're both far away from the cats closest to us."

Swallowing her guilt, Pepper nodded. She couldn't forget what she had just done. She wanted more than anything else to blurt out that it wasn't true, but she was afraid that Ravenpaw would strike out at her, call her a liar. Pepper would never, ever want that. But still, she had just lied to the one she loved. _Whoa, wait! Loved?!_ Pepper froze. _Don't be ridiculous. You've known him for a day and a half. He's your friend._ But she still got that horrible sinking feeling when she remembered that she lied to her lo--no. Her _friend_.

_*gasp* PEPPER'S A MEANIE! PEPPER'S A MEANIE! LIAR, LIAR, FARM ATTIRE!!! Yeah, yeah, I know that's not the real words. Lol XD So thank you so much for reviewing! The number 10 reviewer this time, gets a Pepper AND a Ravenpaw plushie! =D And I'm really excited for Halloween! *does happy dance* I'm going to be a Venetian masquerade. ^o^ R&R PLEEZ!! KTHANXBYE XD_


	6. I'm BACK! With a new chappie!

_*takes a deep breath* YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!!!! I'm back!!!! XD I'm so happy to have FINALLY posted! And before I forget, I want to thank Rainpath SO MUCH for giving me the idea for this chapter, since I couldn't think of anything myself. AND! I also want to thank Leafstar of NatureClan for giving me the idea of the Lilac character in the story. Read to answer your questions. lol So here we go with chapter 3!!! XD_

A Raven's Peppered Wing

Chapter 3

"Ow!" Pepper stumbled as she tripped over a rock jutting up from the ground. Glaring at it, she shook her front paw in attempt to shake off the throbbing.

"Are you okay, Pepper?" She turned to Ravenpaw, who was a couple of paces ahead of her. Pepper had agreed to be given a tour around the barn and she had not quite gotten used to the terrain just yet.

"Yeah," she mewed, limping ahead to join him. "Stupid rock." Ravenpaw laughed and Pepper suppressed a purr.

"Anyways," Ravenpaw went on. "This over here-" he gestured towards the penned up place where the huge, thundering creatures ran about. "- is the horse pasture. Those huge things are called horses."

Pepper stared up at the pasture in wonder. "Wow," she breathed, but then jumped far back with a yelp of surprise as one horse stamped by them. Ravenpaw joined her.

"Don't worry," he said. "They can't get over the fence, and you're safe as long as you keep your distance." He rested his tail-tip on her shoulder and Pepper felt shivers.

_Stop it, Pepper!_ She told herself sharply as they went on down a narrow, worn-down path that led along the side of the pasture. _You're not some silly she-kit, seduced by one smile._ Pepper scrambled for her dignity and held on to it tight.

She and Ravenpaw continued all around the barn, pointing out places to go and places to stay well away from-- the dogs' home, the other big animals' pens, and so on.

The sun was starting to sink into the very tops of the trees when Ravenpaw led her to the end of the tour. Pepper had turned her back to him to survey the strange birds he called 'chickens' pecking at the ground and was absentmindedly padding backwards when he spoke again.

"And this is the Twoleg nest." Pepper froze. _Twoleg nest?_

"Uh, yeah." Ravenpaw meowed a bit awkwardly. Pepper realized that she had spoken aloud. He nudged her around to face it. She stared at it, stiff with terror. It looked nothing like her old human's home-- it had nicely colored walls, flowers and plants hung about it... it was pleasant-looking. There was no reason for Pepper to feel so petrified. But horrible memories of her old human and the things inside his nest came rushing back to her, flooding her veins with icy cold panic. Pepper felt her heart race far too quickly and she was aware of her chest fluttering up and down as she started to hyperventilate.

"Pepper? Pepper!" Ravenpaw was staring at her with alarm in his gold eyes, but Pepper barely heard him. She had started to shake.

Suddenly a loud noise sounded from in the Twoleg nest, and Pepper's brief panic attack exploded into her. Fear was all she knew as she bolted from the spot, her legs a skittish and frightened blur. Her chest tightened and she found it hard to breathe, making small whimpering sounds as her breath rushed in and out of her. Her cloudy brown eyes flicked this way and that, looking everywhere and nowhere, searching desperately for a place to hide until this nightmare of a shock was over.

_Slam!_ Pepper shrieked as a huge hoof struck the ground right next to her. She had run straight into the horse pasture. Gathering up the few scraps of sense she had left, Pepper forced her paws to veer off to the side and out of the fenced-in place.

Before long, the barn was in sight. Pepper sped through the doors and behind the nearest haystack. Once in the security of the sweet yellow straws, she crouched low and shrank as far into the stack as possible, though it pricked at her skin. Her breath came in deep, ragged gasps. She tried and pathetically failed to slow her heart down.

She jumped again as a voice sounded from outside the barn but then relaxed just a bit when she recognized Ravenpaw's voice. _He can't' see me like this..._ Her heart protested, but she was too weary to move. Besides, Ravenpaw had already followed her fear-scent and skirted the edge of the pile.

Pepper glanced at him. His eyes were troubled, and he approached her slowly. She looked away. Soon, she felt his fur brush hers. After a brief silence that seemed far too long, he spoke.

"Pepper? Are you all right?" Pepper took another shaky breath and attempted to look normal.

"I-I think so. Yeah, I think so." Looking at him hesitantly, she could see he wasn't convinced.

Ravenpaw brushed away a straw of hay poking at his ear. "What happened back there? I didn't think that you'd have known much about Twolegs, living out in that forest of yours, but..."

Guilt slammed Pepper in the stomach again, and she almost cried out. She hated lying to him. _Hated_ it. But it was too late to go back now.

"I know. But..." Pepper trailed off. There was no way to say anything without completely contradicting herself. She couldn't say that she got scared easily-- she'd already told him that she and her sister, Pixie, spent all day fighting off scary creatures. She couldn't say that she had bad experiences with Twolegs, because then he would press her to tell him what they were. Her guilt increased as yet another lie came spilling out her mouth.

"Once, Twolegs came to our little forest and started cutting the trees in half. They'd take them home to their nests and never bring them back. One day, Pixie and I were caught by them and they kept us prisoners. We eventually escaped, and our father attacked the main Twoleg running the scene. They didn't come back after that."

Ravenpaw was gaping at her. "Wow, really? I've heard of that happening before-- you know, Twolegs capturing cats." He shook his head, as if he couldn't believe what was happening. "I'm sorry, Pepper, I wouldn't have brought you there if I'd known." Pepper felt his eyes on her and looked at him. His handsome face was lined with gold from the afternoon sun spilling in the doors of the barn, and his eyes were worried and sympathetic. She flinched. _He has no reason to feel sorry for me! It's not true!_ Her heart screamed, but Pepper blocked it out. She couldn't bear it.

"Um... hello?" Ravenpaw turned at the sound of a small, shy voice calling into the barn and rose to his paws. Pepper forced herself to a shaky standing position. Peering around the edge of the haystack, she saw the outline of cat standing hesitantly at the entryway.

"Another cat?" Pepper whispered. Ravenpaw must have not heard her, or he didn't show it. He crept around the side of the stack to greet the newcomer and, after a brief hesitation, Pepper followed. She came into full view of the cat.

It was a she-cat, tall and lanky, with a light gray pelt. Her chest fur was an even paler gray, and a bit fluffy, like a dove's. Her eyes, a pale lavender, flitted her and there in a strange kind of calm anxiety. She blinked in surprise when she saw Ravenpaw and Pepper approach her steadily but took a small step forward.

"Uh, hello," she mewed tentatively.

"Hi," Ravenpaw mewed to her.

Pepper smiled at the she-cat, trying to be friendly. She knew what it felt like to be an outsider. "What's your name?" she asked her.

The cat shifted from paw to paw briefly before answering, "I'm Lilac."

_*gasp* DUN DUN DUN DUNNNNNNN!!!!!! Who is this Lilac??? =O Sorry to Leafstar if that's not what you thought she would be, but that's just how I pictured her. Besides, there's no such thing as a purple cat, right? Or is there?... T.T_

_ But anyways, thank you all so much for not giving up on me yet! And please, if I could get a lot of reviews, then that would make me feel so good and probably make me update again sooner! lol Hoped you liked Pepper's little panic attack! KTHANXBYE XD_


	7. Chapter 4

_Yaaaay! Chappie four! Chappie four! Chappie four! WHOOT!! I had a lot of time on my hands, so I got to write a lot! And by the way, Happy Thanksgiving to everybody! So... I have nothing else to say. READ! XD_

A Raven's Peppered Wing

Chapter 4

Pepper stared at the newcomer with undisguised curiosity.

"Lilac?" she mewed absentmindedly. The gray she-cat nodded.

"Yes," she confirmed. "That's me." Her gaze switched back and forth between her and Ravenpaw. "Who are you?"

"I'm Ravenpaw," the black tom told her, and he gestured to Pepper. "And this is Pepper." Pepper smiled at her. She smiled back.

"If you don't mind me asking... what are you doing here?" Ravenpaw continued, his voice mild but filled with interest and edged with suspicion.

"I was just looking for somewhere to stay. Just for tonight, though," Lilac added quickly. "I don't want to barge in or anything."

"Oh, it's no trouble," Ravenpaw mewed. "I'm fine with it. How about you, Pepper?"

Pepper shrugged. "I don't see why not. But what about Barley?"

Lilac looked confused. "Um... Barley?"

"He's another cat who lives here," Ravenpaw explained. "A friend of ours."

"And he doesn't like newcomers?"

Ravenpaw shook his head. "No, it's not that. He's just distant. Both of us are loners, so he doesn't necessarily like a big amount of cats around."

"Well, we could certainly ask him, couldn't we?" Pepper put in. Ravenpaw nodded. "Sure."

Lilac nodded with a timid, "Okay,", although she didn't look at all sure that she would be accepted. Her light eyes were shifting with uncertainty.

Ravenpaw started toward the barn door. "Well, come on. Let's go find him."

Pepper followed him, and then slackened her pace until she was walking by Lilac.

"So," Pepper tried to strike up a conversation. "Where are you traveling from?" Lilac shrugged. "I'm not sure exactly," she admitted. "I've just been drifting around for a long time, and I though that it was time I found out where I actually was." Pepper nodded. "Oh, I get it. So you're on your own? No family?"

Lilac openly winced. "Not anymore." Pepper instantly felt hard guilt crash over her like a cold wave.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to--"

"It's all right," Lilac interrupted her. "I just... I miss them." The gray she-cat sighed. Pepper blinked sympathetically.

"What-- I mean, if you don't mind me asking... What happened to them?" she mewed tentatively, not wanting to ask another hurtful question.

Lilac paused. "I'm... I'm not sure, really. I think... Oh, I don't remember." She shook her head. "I only recall that I had a mother, a father, and a sibling. Whether it was a brother or sister..." She trailed off, and Pepper guessed she couldn't remember that either.

Lilac sighed. "I can't even remember what they looked like, or what they called me." Lilac nodded when Pepper's ears pricked in surprise. "That's right; I don't even know my own name. I came up with the name Lilac myself." The she-cat shook her head and sighed. "It's pathetic, really."

Pepper touched her shoulder with he tail-tip. "It's not pathetic. And it's not your fault that you can't remember. I'm sorry."

Lilac smiled. "Thank you... Pepper." Pepper grinned. She had just made a new friend.

They found Barley strolling around by the cornfields. _Where Twolegs grow their food,_ Pepper remembered. Once they spotted the black-and-white figure, Ravenpaw turned to her and Lilac.

"I think I should go and talk to him first. What do you think?" Pepper nodded. "That's a good idea," she mewed in agreement, and Lilac murmured her assent.

"Okay," he meowed. "I'll be right back." He started the walk around the field. Pepper looked up at Lilac. The gray cat was squinting against the sinking sun in the direction Ravenpaw had gone in. "So that's Barley?" she asked. "Over there?" She pointed with her tail. Pepper followed her gaze.

"Yeah, that's him," she mewed.

"Oh," Lilac muttered. Pepper glanced at her again. She had a funny thoughtful look in her lavender eyes. "You think he'll let me stay?"

Pepper shrugged. "I really don't know. My guess is that he'll fell a bit uncomfortable, since he lived on his own his whole life, but he wouldn't turn away a cat in need." Lilac cocked her head. "Do you know him well?" she inquired.

Pepper narrowed her eyes. "Well... not really. I only just got here yesterday." Lilac's eyes stretched wide. "Really? It seems like Ravenpaw's like your best friend."

Pepper hid the disappointment that spread inside her. "Um, it does?" Lilac laughed. Pepper went on, "Well, I guess he's a good friend of mine. We've got a lot in common, I think." Lilac smiled. "Fast friends," she stated knowingly.

Pepper looked back to the horizon. The sun was getting lower and lower with heartbeat. Her mind strayed to Ravenpaw. _Best friends...?_ Is that what Ravenpaw thought, too? _Probably_, Pepper realized, looking at her paws, her spirits automatically dropping. That was probably all he wanted, as well. Friends. There was probably some she-cat back in his Clan that he loved and never, ever stopped thinking about, or something...

"Hey, they're coming back!" Pepper looked up at Lilac's exclamation. It was true; Barley was following Ravenpaw back along the field towards the two she-cats. Ravenpaw bounded ahead of him. His yellow eyes glowed with satisfaction. "He says you can stay!" he mewed to Lilac. Her face lit up. "Really?" Ravenpaw nodded and opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by Barley's voice behind him.

"So where's this new cat, Ravenpaw? This wasn't a joke, was it?" Ravenpaw turned to face Barley.

"No, it wasn't." The black tom circled until he was next to Lilac. "This is Lilac. Lilac, meet Barley." Lilac dipped her head. "Hi," she mewed. "Thank you so much for letting me stay. I won't be a bother." Barley smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry about it, and you're welcome." Lilac lowered her eyes to her paws, looking embarrassed. Pepper felt her eyes glow with amusement.

"So, uh... We should probably be getting back to the barn soon, right?" Ravenpaw suggested, his whiskers twitching a bit uncomfortably. Pepper smothered a laugh at his awkwardness at his friend's sudden change of mood.

Barley shook his head quickly, as if shaking away a fly. "Oh, yeah," he meowed, the old, wary disposition back immediately. He set off in the direction of the barn at a quick, confident trot.

As Pepper followed the three cats back to the comfort of the haystacks, her thoughts once again meandered in random directions. For some reason, they led her to Lilac. Something about her seemed familiar. Long-lost memories of kithood stirred in her brain, and Pepper found herself thinking of her mother. A pale gray pelt, tall and thin... Lilac looked just like her... _No,_ Pepper told herself instantaneously. _You're mother is dead._

_*gasp* DUN DUN DUNNNN!!!!! SCARY!!!! =O And also, possible BarleyxLilac??? =D =D =D OOOOOH!!!! Writing them was fun! XD So anyways, please review! More than the last chapter, if you may. I only got about 9 or 10, which sucks. -.- So please, please, PLEASE REVIEW!!! I am begging you, review a lot! KTHANXBYE XD_


	8. Important Author Note

Dear Readers,

Um, guys? Five reviews from the last chapter. I'm not happy. I mean, I'm not mad, I'm just... not happy. I know for some people, 5 reviews is a lot, but I need to know what you guys think of my story, and when I get, like, 2 reviews I get the strong feeling that no one really likes it anymore. I also need encouragement, or I tend to just give up on things. So until I get my own story straight as far as plot goes and until my confidence is back up, A Raven's Peppered Wing is officially on hold. Sorry you guys.

The Amazing Teenage Disappearing Act ~~~ Macey-the-Invisible


	9. CHAPTER 5! YEEAAAHH!

_*takes a deep breath* !!!!!! I'm back!!!! I'm so happy I finally got my story straightened out more! I'm also very relieved because some people were NOT HAPPY that I put this on hold, so I won't get any more hate mail. HAHA JUST KIDDING! Anyways, this chapter is about Ravenpaw mostly and some Pepper drama. Didn't you notice in Rising Storm how Ravenpaw had a strange interest in Sandstorm? I did, so that is the basis of this chappie. Enjoy! =D_

A Raven's Peppered Wing

Chapter 5

A grassy wind shifted the stalks of wheat and whistled through the barn door, ruffling the sticks of hay and Pepper's tabby brown fur. She wrinkled her nose and opened her eyes, lifting her head drowsily from her little white paws to the rising sun, just visible over the horizon outside the barn.

For almost a moon Pepper had lived at the farm with her three companions--Barley, Ravenpaw, and their newest resident, Lilac, all of them good friends. Pepper was growing accustomed to this place, and often found herself calling it 'home.'

"Morning, Pepper!" The small tabby turned her head at the call and smiled to see Lilac, the long-limbed gray she-cat stretching in her next of hay a few tail-lengths away. Her lavender eyes sparkled in the growing dawn light, and she sat down and started washing her fluffy white chest fur.

"Hi Lilac," Pepper mewed. "Good sleep?" Lilac straightened up. "Good? Like a rock!" Pepper laughed at that, and stood up and stretched, arching her back. After she'd given herself a thorough wash, she set out for a quick walk around the farm. She wasn't quite hungry yet, so she'd hunt later.

Exiting the barn doors, she stepped daintily and calmly along the worn pathway that she had long since gotten to know. Looking around, Pepper realized how strange it was that everything was so familiar now. She lay down on the dusty ground and soaked up the warm morning sunrays. Closing her eyes, she had never felt so relaxed in a long time. Suddenly, something jabbed her in the ribs, and she jumped to her paws, eyes wide and fur bristling in alarm. It lay flat again when she recognized the black cat in front of her, his golden eyes laughing.

"Ravenpaw, you idiot! Don't scare me like that!" she squealed, though she was on the verge of laughing herself. Ravenpaw chuckled and circled her playfully. "What?" the tom teased. "Not afraid of me, are you?"

Pepper crouched, smiling mischievously. "Never!" and leapt on him. He fell back with a meow of surprise, and the two of them scuffled around on the ground. Ravenpaw broke away, a smile on his face, holding up his tail in surrender. "Okay, I give!"

"Haha!" Pepper laughed mockingly and shook the dust from her pelt. Ravenpaw sat down beside her, sighing.

"That reminds me of when I used fight with Firestar and Graystripe," he reflected. "You know, back when we were all apprentices." Pepper smiled. She loved hearing about Ravenpaw's old friends, and would willingly sit for hours on end to listen to his stories about what they'd get up to.

"We never really hung out with Dustpaw or Sandpaw, though..." His voice trailed off when he realized that Pepper was looked at him with a questioning look on her face. "Oh, I never told you about Dustpaw and Sandpaw?" Pepper shook her head.

"Oh, okay. Dustpaw and Sandpaw-- well, they're both Dustpelt and Sandstorm now, but they were in training with us."

"Why didn't you talk to them?"

Ravenpaw shrugged. "They weren't really nice to us. Actually, they weren't decent to us at all. The two of them thought that they were better than us because they were the older apprentices. They made fun of us and just ignored us, really. Especially Firestar--Firepaw then-- because he wasn't Clanborn." Pepper nodded. She had heard about Firestar's struggles to be accepted into the Clan from a lot of Ravenpaw's tales.

"Anyways, I didn't really think they were all bad. I mean, it's not like they were evil cats or anything. And I know Sandstorm was only that way because she didn't have a lot of company. Her father was Redtail-- remember when I told you about him? -- and she never knew her mother. She was an only kit too."

"Oh..."

"Yeah." Ravenpaw let out a breath. "I just felt bad for them. I didn't see those two for a while after I came here. I saw Firestar and Graystripe more often than them, it's true, but I wasn't exactly expecting them to come visit me. The next time I saw one of them was when I was going to tell Firestar something. He was just a warrior then, the deputy in fact, and his name was Fireheart, and he attacked me. He thought I was a rogue or something! But then he recognized me, and then... you know, detached his claws from my fur." Pepper laughed. Ravenpaw continued his story.

"Then Sandstorm came up beside him." He paused, his eyes growing distant. "I knew who she was in an instant, but at the same time, she looked... different. More grown-up. To be honest..." He trailed off, and Pepper stiffened when he spoke again. "My first impression was that... well, that she was beautiful." Pepper felt the fur on her hackles rising.

"Anyway," Ravenpaw continued. "I told Firestar what I needed to tell him, and we ended up on a trip to save his nephew, Cloudpaw. I'll tell you all about that later," he added. "I tried talking to Sandstorm a couple times, because I wanted to get to know her better. She was still a bit sharp, but she was much nicer than before, so Firestar said. And I wanted to be her friend... or more, but..." He sighed. "It was obvious before long that she really loved Firestar. So I just let them be." Ravenpaw let out a half-hearted laugh. "Firestar and Sandstorm are mates now. The last time I saw them, they had two daughters. Really cute." The black tom sounded wistful.

Pepper was silent for a while, then she spoke tentatively. "So... you loved her?"

Ravenpaw didn't answer at first, but then nodded slowly. "I think so. I mean, it would have been short-lived if I did, but... I think so."

Pepper inhaled sharply, but Ravenpaw didn't seem to notice. She was really trying to fight back the surge of emotions inside of her that made her want to yowl and snarl with frustration-- but also cry and sob with sadness and disappointment.

"Sorry," she murmured, but she really wasn't. Who was this Sandstorm she-cat? _I bet she's actually ugly,_ she thought bitterly. _Ugly and stupid!_ What right did she have to-- Pepper's spirits sank to her paws and below when she realized that this she-cat had every right to win Ravenpaw's affections. Shame crashed down with it when she realized how harsh she had been. It was no one's fault that she had a problem but hers.

Pepper shook her head briskly, trying to fling off all this emotion and faced Ravenpaw. "So tell me about the expedition of yours. Looking for Firestar's nephew, I think?..."

Ravenpaw nodded, his eyes lightening. "Okay. Well, Firestar had a nephew whom his sister gave to him so he could be raised in a Clan," Ravenpaw started as he stood up. Pepper stood up too, and Ravenpaw continued his story of how Cloudpaw was captured by Twolegs and the three of them went off to save him as they walked back along the path toward the barn.

But the whole way along, Pepper kept twitching her ears as if trying to rid herself of the nagging feeling that she was getting in her stomach-- that Ravenpaw didn't care about her anymore.

_*gasp* !!! Pepper's sad! *laughs maniacally* I DON'T CARE! HAHAHAHAHA! XD I hope you guys didn't mind me making Pepper kinda mean to Sandstorm earlier. Sandstorm's awesome, and I didn't really like making fun of her, but y'know-- We must have the drama! XD So PLEASE review, because I would love it so much if you reviewed! KTHANXBYE XD_


	10. Actually, Chapter 7! XD

_*has yellow and white poms poms* Ohhh.... B to the A to the C to the K-- I'm BACK!! ^o^ WHOOOOOO! Yaay! I'm so happy! Yes, I do acknowledge how AGONIZINGLY LONG I took writing this next chapter, so I punished myself ahead of time so you guys don't throw tomatoes at me or something. You see... *big, sad eyes* Macey had to iron her hands... *shows hands covered in bandages* Haha! GO DOBBY! XD Anyways, on wiv da chaptah! Enjoy!! =D_

A Raven's Peppered Wing

Chapter 7

Sunlight beat heavily on the black shingle roof of the barn, and one could barely pick out a sleek black cat trotting along the gutter. The cat's golden eyes caught the sun and glinted and he turned his head to look behind him at another cat following nervously and cautiously along the side of the roof--this one easily able to spot among the tiles, mottled light brown with tiny white paws. She too had amber-like eyes, but hers were browner and cloudy, like dust on a road. The sunlight again caught the new cat's eyes, but she only squinted and shrunk back farther against the warming roof.

The black cat turned back and padded along the edge to her.

"Come on, Pepper, let's go!" he yowled encouragingly, rearing up on his hind legs and bounding forward again. Pepper, the brown tabby cat, stared at him, eyes wide with disbelief.

"Like I'm going to run along the edge of this rickety old thing! No way, I'm going slowly before I break my neck like you!" Her words were sharp, but her dusky brown eyes sparkled with humor and her voice had a tinge of it as well.

The black tom looked back over his shoulder. "Oh, yeah? Well, what if I'm--" He spun around to face her. "Magical?" he finished melodramatically.

Pepper caught up and pushed him lightly. "Just because your name is Ravenpaw, doesn't mean you can fly like a raven!" She stepped past him and continued along the roof, staring down at hers paws as if she could prevent them from tripping over anything by boring her eyes into them.

Ravenpaw smiled from behind her. "Oh, fine," he fumed playfully. "Look, there's the end." Pepper glanced up; he was right. The edge of the gutter was approaching, and once she had reached it, she took a cautious step to the wide windowsill and slipped inside, heaving a sigh of relief and jumping down in a small pile of hay. Ravenpaw followed her casually.

"See?" he mewed, nudging her as he trotted up. "That wasn't so bad, was it? I told you walking along the barn was fun." Pepper rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, if you've lived here for years. Remember, I haven't been here so long. Only a little while." She remarked.

Ravenpaw looked puzzled. "What do you mean? I'd call two of three moons more than 'a little while', wouldn't you?" He leaped on top of a large stack of hay and sat down, puffing out his chest.

"Although..." he started. "I _have_ been here for a longer time than you, which makes me your superior. Now run in circles, underling!" Pepper laughed.

"Make me!"

Ravenpaw crouched, waving his tail back and forth menacingly. "Oh, you asked for it!" He pounced, and Pepper shrieked and darted out of the way. The two ran about the loft, dodging stray piles of straw and buckets of animal feed. Pepper screeched to a halt and ducked behind a wheelbarrow--she had learned a lot of the names by now and could recite them in her head--and leapt onto Ravenpaw as he dashed past it. The two of the tussled on the floor.

"Must you two always act like three-moon-old kits?"

The two froze and looked to the stairway leading up to the loft, where Barley stood staring at them with amusement in his eyes. Ravenpaw was first to move, detaching his head from Pepper's paws and standing up to shake his fur.

"Well, she started it!"

Barley was unmoved. "I rest my case."

Movement sounded behind the black-and-white tom, and Pepper saw the gray, fluffy head of Lilac poke up next to him.

"Oh, let them have fun, Barley. Younger ones always think of everything as a game." She remarked. Pepper smiled at her words, but something in her stirred, hurt. Lilac was older than Pepper by a bit, but she had never thought of their age difference as something to set them apart from each other. She looked down, suddenly set to thinking, and didn't hear what Ravenpaw said to her.

"Pepper?"

She looked up, jumped. "What?"

Ravenpaw looked curiously at her for a moment, then shook his head like he was flinging water off his ears. "I said me and Barley are going to go hunt. I'll see you later."

"Okay, bye."

The two toms set off bounding down the loft stairs, but Lilac stayed where she was after a quick goodbye to Barley. Pepper remembered she was still half-lying on the dusty floor and stood up to shake the dirt and hay pieces from her tabby pelt.

"So," Lilac started, heading over to her, her dainty paws quiet on the wooden floor. "How are you doing?"

"I'm okay." Pepper still felt deterred by Lilac's dismissive comment, but she still had no idea why. It wasn't unlike Lilac to make jokes about how she and Ravenpaw fooled around, but this felt different somehow.

Lilac sat down in front of her, even so, she still towered over Pepper. Lilac was tall, long-limbed, and graceful; whereas Pepper was small and clumsy.

"Are you a little bit..." Lilac trailed off and Pepper cocked her head, waiting for her to resume her sentence. "Annoyed? I mean, at what I said?"

Well," Pepper shifted. "I'm not _annoyed_... A little confused, sure..."

"I'm sorry."

"It's fine, really. I mean, I took seriously."

Lilac paused. "To be honest, I was kind of saying it to sound... Well..."

"To sound what?" Pepper tried to meet Lilac's lavender gaze, but it was fixed on her paws. She thought for a moment and the answer hit her--not hard, but like a cuff on the head to arouse one from sleep. "To sound _older_?"

Lilac shifted this time, looking very uncomfortable. "Well, no, not older. Like..."

"More mature?" Pepper suddenly realized how often she finished her older friend's sentences for her and smothered a laugh.

"Yeah, I guess."

Pepper did laugh this time. "Why?"

Lilac didn't reply at first. "Uh... You know..."

"No, I don't know, otherwise I wouldn't have asked you."

Lilac smiled. "I wanted Barley to think of me as more mature."

This time the answer _did_ hit Pepper hard, harder than before. She blinked with shock. She had noticed and known of Lilac's, well... special feelings about Barley, but she had never heard her be so open about them before.

Lilac looked down again. "I mean.. He's so considerate and..." She sighed and trailed off. Pepper smiled, dragging herself out of her shocked stage. She was happy for her friend for finding someone she cared about, so she could at least show it.

The small tabby pressed her muzzle against the tall gray she-cat's shoulder. "I'm glad he's right for you. I'm sure he feels the same." A small flicker of doubt, the smallest, sparked in Lilac's eyes, but only for a moment. Then it was gone and Lilac was smiling shyly again. A mischievous glint entered her pale purple eyes.

"I'm sure your special someone feels the same, too..." she mewed smoothly, getting up and padding around Pepper toward the loft window, from which light was flooding into.

Pepper stayed where she was, stuck to the ground. Her head spun in confusion. "Wait--what? Who? Which 'someone'?" she stammered.

Lilac, now perched on the sill, looked over her shoulder. Her gray fur had a gold lining from the sun behind her and she looked like a statue for a minute.

"Ravenpaw, mouse-brain!"

Pepper's skin suddenly flushed with embarrassment, until she thought she would pass out from the heat. She diverted her eyes and ducked her head.

"Wh-what do you mean? Ravenpaw, he... he doesn't... doesn't... _like_ me..." she spluttered clumsily.

Lilac let out a loud _mrrow_ of laughter and it cut through the loft. "He does too!" she protested, still laughing. "He's insane over you! Haven't you noticed?"

Pepper, suddenly interested, looked up. All embarrassment was gone, and now only eagerness to find out what Ravenpaw really thought about her was left.

"Noticed what? What does he say? Noticed what?!" She pummeled her friend with questions.

Lilac stood up on the windowsill. "Ha! See? You like him back!" Pepper swallowed and looked away again.

"No, I d--" She started guiltily, then stopped. There was no point in hiding anything when Lilac could see right through her no matter what. Besides, she had told Pepper of her feelings for Barley; it was only fair.

"Yeah, I--I do. I mean, he's just..." She couldn't find words. "Yeah." When she looked up again, Lilac was smiling kindly at her.

"I thought something more was going on." She meowed softly and motioned with her head for Pepper to come closer. Pepper did, and sat down next to Lilac on the sill.

"Look," Lilac started. "Toms are always way too oblivious to notice when they have feelings for someone, I know. But the most you can do is wait and see what happens."

Uncertainty stirred in Pepper stomach. "But... If you wait for too long, could the feelings go away?"

"Not if they're real."

Pepper thought this over, looking absentmindedly out the loft window. Was it true what Lilac said? Would Ravenpaw really feel the way Lilac said he did forever? She sighed. These questions, she feared, would never truly be answered.

"Hey!" Pepper looked around at the sound of Ravenpaw's voice. She saw the black tom at the stairs, weaving around a vole and three mice that lay at his feet.

"You guys coming down?" he asked them casually. A playful shine entered his eyes as he looked at Lilac. "_Barley's_ down there..." He teased in a sing-song voice.

Lilac stood up and stretched, then bounding across the loft to Ravenpaw. "Oh, shut up," she retorted, flicking his ear with her tail. But she didn't show any sign of denial as she trotted down the stairs. Ravenpaw turned his gold eyes on her and Pepper smiled.

"You want to share this with me?" he asked, looking down at the vole and nudging it. "We can save the other stuff for later today." He glanced back up at her, and the tabby she-cat could have sworn something in his eyes changed. She couldn't place it, what it was... But it changed, somehow. For once Pepper felt some confidence in Lilac's words. Maybe things _were_ different.

"Yeah," she said, getting up and padding towards him. Then, of all boldness, she pressed her muzzle against his side. "Yeah, I would."

_EEEEEEEEP! Wasn't that just soooo cute?! Well, maybe not that cute, but y'know. XP Haha! I'm random. That was a random chapter. SO-- Tell me what you guys thought! Any ideas for the next couple chapters before Le Grande Finale? And, uhhh... yeah. REVIEW! =D KTHANXBYE XD_


	11. Whoohoo! Chappie 8!

_Yippee! I'm still alive, everyone! XD Yes, it is true, the reason I have not updated in FOR EVAH is not because I died, but in fact because I have a horrible creative mind and can't think of any plotlines for any new chapters. HOWEVER! I am VERY excited to inform you that Le Grande Finale is coming, only two chapters away! Two, including this one. So after you read this one, only one more till the finale is here! Yay! =D So, now just enjoy what my horribly uncreative mind has finally come up with. XD_

A Raven's Peppered Wing

"Come on, come on!" Pepper was nearly too out of breath to yell the words over her shoulder at her companion, who was racing with her like his life depended on it. The little brown tabby laughed. Even trying his hardest, Ravenpaw was always a good two tail-lengths behind her.

"You can do better than that!" She teased.

"Hey! You're the one who got a head start!"

Pepper screeched to a halt and spun around to face him. "I did not!"

Ravenpaw stopped right in front of her, almost knocking her over. She didn't flinch.

"Did too!"

"Oh, are you really going to start that 'did not, did too' game? It's for kits."

"You act like one!"

Pepper crouched. "Oh, you're in for it now!" she hissed playfully, and leaped at him. Ravenpaw dodged to the side and pinned her down in the dusty grass just in front of the barn. Pepper hadn't realized she'd made it this far.

"_I'm_ in for it?" Ravenpaw fake-snarled. His breath brushed her fur and Pepper found herself looking upward. Ravenpaw's fur was on end, bristling happily, and his yellow eyes shone bright with amusement. She tried not to stare. "_You're_ in for it!" He paused, and his grin got smaller until it was only a small smile.

"Pepper, you're staring at me."

Pepper drew in a sharp breath, dragging herself from the depths of his eyes and back into reality. "Oh, right, sorry, uh… I was just…" She didn't have an excuse, and she fell silent.

Ravenpaw loosened his grip on her. "It's okay." He meowed quietly. Pepper looked at him and saw he was staring too. His golden eyes moved to her ear, and he leaned over and gently licked it. Pepper was almost startled by the gentleness of the gesture. Ravenpaw looked at her again.

"Just a bit of hay." He muttered, looking a little nervous. His smile was gone, and he looked like he was waiting for a response to something he had done.

Pepper smiled warmly at him, and to her delight, he smiled back.

"Thanks." She whispered. The moment stuck in time, and for a little while, Pepper forgot about everything she had ever worried over.

"Ahem."

Both cats looked up to see Barley standing right in the entrance and immediately jumped away from each other like their touch suddenly stung. Pepper licked her ruffled chest fur, trying to cover her embarrassment, and out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Ravenpaw shuffling his paws and biting his lip.

"Barley…" Ravenpaw's voice had a note of accusing in it, like how a kit would yell at its sibling after being pushed down.

"What, upset that I've been ruining your moments?"

Pepper glanced up sharply, partially because he had guessed exactly correct. "Hey, just because—"

Barley purred with amusement. "I'm kidding," he meowed as he trotted between them, flicking them both on the shoulder with his tail. Pepper relaxed at his words, but felt strangely disappointed. "Lighten up, both of you." He turned to face them before heading into the trees. "I'm going to meet Lilac to go hunting. Be back later." Pepper suppressed a knowing purr. Lilac, the pretty, lanky gray she-cat who had just joined their little group of misfits, had been spending more and more time with Barley by the day. In either of them had noticed each other's feelings, then they weren't showing it. Otherwise, they were idiots.

She called a goodbye to Barley as he jogged to the woodland and stared after him, her mind wandering to nothing in particular.

"What are you thinking of?" Ravenpaw's voice. She turned and saw that he had padded closer. His tone was only curious.

Pepper sighed. "I don't know. Anything. Barley and Lilac."

"Isn't it great?"

"What?"

"Barley and Lilac together."

"Well…" Pepper mewed hesitantly. "They're not really _together_…"

"Well, no, but that can't be far behind." Ravenpaw's voice was determinedly optimistic, and Pepper almost wanted to wail out loud at the way he was somehow always happy. But she only smiled and murmured a quiet agreement. Ravenpaw was smiling too.

"Hey, you two!" Pepper looked up from her paws at the tall gray figure coming from the trees.

"Lilac!" Pepper grinned, trotting forward to greet her friend. "I thought you and Barley were going hunting together."

Lilac sighed, ruffling the fluffy pale gray fur at her chest. "I was, but I starting scouting around for some good places, and nothing's out yet! Barley's coming back in a little bit, but we're going to wait until noon, when all the animals are out of their dens." She licked Pepper's ear. "But anyways," she went on and Pepper braced herself for a long talk. Lilac had a thing for talking for hours on end and never getting tired of it. "I was wondering if you wanted to come explore with me."

_Explore?_ "Explore?" she echoed her mind. "I don't know…" Pepper gulped. "I'm not really one for exploring…"

"Come on, please?" Lilac's lavender eyes begged and pleaded with her, making her want to give in. "It'll be fun!"

Pepper sighed. "Okay, I'll go."

Ravenpaw came up behind her, his pelt brushing. "Do you want me to come too?" he asked, looking at her. Pepper turned her head just in time to see Ravenpaw's eyes lock with hers. She smiled, ready to say "Okay," but Lilac beat her to it.

"That's okay, Ravenpaw," Lilac mewed. "We probably won't be back for a little bit, so Barley should need some help hunting today. Why don't you go and find him?"

Ravenpaw looked a little taken aback, like he was sure that he would have been allowed to go. Pepper started to protest, but Lilac cut her off again.

"Don't worry," she assured the black tom. "We'll be _fine_. Besides, I need my time with Pepper, too."

Ravenpaw immediately looked embarrassed, and muttered a sheepish "All right" before scuttling off to the woods. Pepper stared regretfully after him until he vanished into the trees, then looking at Lilac accusingly.

"Why'd you have to do that?" she muttered unhappily.

Lilac laughed, untouched. "Well, it's true. You spend _all_ your time with him. I mean," she added mischievously. "I know why…"

Pepper pushed her playfully. "Okay, I'm sorry. Now let's go so we can get back before sunset."

They followed the path that led all through the woods. Pepper remembered the last time she had been on it had been with Ravenpaw, limping along with and injured leg, just after escaping her Twoleg and getting caught in the bear trap. _Speak of the devil._ She looked to her left and there laid the trap, still broken. She let out a small, confused "Hm." She would have thought that a Twoleg would have came and picked it up by now. Pausing for a moment, Pepper looked back at her leg. It was completely healed now, and her pelt was shiny and well-groomed. For a heartbeat, Pepper wondered how she would have reacted back then if she had been told that she'd escape, find a beautiful new home, make two new friends, and… 'feel more' for one. _I wouldn't have believed it._ After a sharp call from Lilac, they started to head away from the small spot with the bear trap, staying well away from it even if it was broken.

Pepper ducked her head, ready to go back into the undergrowth, when her paw fell down farther then expected. She looked down and saw that she had stepped in a large print in some muddy, mossy ground. Pulling her paw out and shaking the mud off of it crossly, she looked closer at it and froze. The print was of a Twoleg foot. Her Twoleg. Pepper bent down and sniffed at it. Yes, it was her old human. She could tell by the smell of rotting wood, and the scent of the disgusting bile that he always used to drink out of brown, sharp things that he once broke over her back. It had taken days to get all of the sharp things out. Pepper shuddered, pushing the thought away and turning her attention back to the print. How had it gotten here? Why would the Twoleg come so far from his nest? Icy cold understanding suddenly rose up through her paws. Was he _looking_ for her? Was he coming to get her, even after all this time?

"Pepper!" The small tabby jumped at the sound of her name. Lilac was pushing her way back through the undergrowth from where she had padded ahead. Her gray head popped out, and Pepper quickly moved her front paws so they were blocking the print.

"Did you find something?" the she-cat asked her, eager at the chance to explore something.

Pepper shook her head. "Nope. Nothing."

Lilac shrugged and turned back around. Pepper removed her paws and saw the tiny print of her paws inside the giant, menacing crater. Without thinking, she shoved dirt on it, covering it up, and wishing that her own worries and fears could she covered up and forgotten so easily.

_*gasp* DUN DUN DUNNNN! The evil Twoleg is a'comin to get her! =O OMG OMG OMG! So anyways, review and blah blah blah, because I have the next chappie all written up for ya! =D I'll have to finish up the finale before publishing it though, so it may be just a little bit. REVEWI! lol KTHANXBYE XD_


	12. LoveyDovey Chapter 9!

_Yessss! The next chappiieee! This is my favorite chappeh evah. All you fans of PepperxRaven will lovveee it. ;) So anyways… Yeah. Read. XD_

A Raven's Peppered Wing

Chapter 9

"This wasn't so bad, was it?" Pepper looked up, acknowledging the teasing words with only a nod. Ahead of her, a tall, lanky gray she-cat was looking over her shoulder at the little tabby, her lavender eyes glittering with amusement. It was just like Lilac to point out when someone had been proven wrong—_again_. The pale cat had a thing for being right, and Pepper had gotten so used to it, it seemed more familiar than ever.

_For a reason, maybe?_ Pepper heard her own question echo in her head. She looked from her paws to ahead of her. Lilac had strayed off of the dusty, worn-down trail and was nosing some tall-growing plants with pretty blue flowers, smelling them and smiling to herself. Pepper was once again struck with the surprisingly strong sense of déjà vu. She shook it off, once again.

"Yeah, I guess exploring outside the farm wasn't _so_ bad," Pepper answered. _Except for finding that track,_ she added silently to herself. Though she was still a bit on her guard, Pepper had shoved that thought to the back of her mind, determined not to think about it.

Lilac turned around, walking backwards. That was another thing the she-cat did, walk backwards, and other abnormal little quirks. "Besides," Pepper went on. "I wasn't scared at all. I surprised myself."

Lilac let out a haughty laugh. "You sure did! I could have sworn you'd seen a fox instead of stepping on a twig yourself! You nearly jumped out of your skin!"

"Shut up!"

Lilac chuckled and turned around again. "So what did you think of the 'outside world?'" she called without turning around this time.

Pepper trotted to catch up with her and walked at her side. "It was pretty much how I'd remembered it. Before I came to the barn, of course. You know, trees, animals, dirt…"

Lilac giggled. "But you weren't afraid or anything?"

"Not as much as I'd expected myself to be."

Pepper's friend smiled. "Why would you expect that? You're so much braver than you think, Pep."

Pepper felt a rush of warmth and amusement at the use of her given nickname. Only Lilac used it, occasionally Barley. And Ravenpaw too.

_Ravenpaw_. The name echoed through her mind and stuck. Pepper had to grit her teeth and take a deep breath to keep from shivering. Just the thought of the sleek, kind-hearted black tom made her feel like a clumsy idiot, compared to Lilac's grace and elegance. She wondered why he hadn't padded after her. Instead, the way he was standing still drove Pepper crazy. Didn't he feel anything? She didn't think she would believe it if he didn't. All Pepper wanted to do was be with him, all the time—Was that how love was supposed to be? Or was she just terrified of being alone in the world again? Since she had escaped her Twoleg, since the days she had spent laughing with Ravenpaw, seeing him smile, the sun warming both their pelts, _almost_ brushing… She had never been so happy.

"Hello? Pep? Pepper!"

"Whoa, okay—what?"

Lilac was grinning at her. "I said, why are you dramatically staring off into the distance?"

"Wha—but—I—I was not staring!"

"Were too!"

"Were not!"

"Were _too._"

Pepper gave up, and shook her head. "We're getting off topic," she argued, trying to push all thoughts of Ravenpaw and his deep yellow eyes to the back of her mind. She failed. Ignoring them, she continued, "The point is, is that I look back and can barely figure out why I was so terrified of everything at first. Probably because I was so alone." Pepper winced at her own lie, then sharply reminded herself that is wasn't _really_ a lie. She _had_ been alone.

Lilac smiled at her and padded ahead. "Come on," she yowled, speeding up to a run. "I told Barley and Ravenpaw we'd be back by sundown. We should probably get back before mealtime!"

Pepper quickened her pace, and together they ran, carefree, through the rest of the thin woods, until they reached the barn.

The barn, it had become so familiar to her. Pepper felt a purr rising up in her chest as it came into view. The old red chipped paint, rustic and welcoming, and the comfortably messy sprawl of the hay all along the floor. And the chatter of the animals as they went along with their daily routines. _If you don't bother them, they won't bother you. Not that they _would_ bother you, though, not with me, your faithful guardian._ Ravenpaw's voice rang in her head, and Pepper bit her lip to keep from grinning like a lovesick goose as she padded under the shady cover of the barn roof. Almost immediately, a sleek black head popped up from atop a pile of hay, the golden eyes sparkling with surprise. Pepper didn't try to stop the happiness rising up in her chest like a gust of wind; it was Ravenpaw.

The skinny tom stood, shaking one or two hay straws fro his pelt, his eyes lighting up as he recognized the two she-cats standing in the doorway.

"Lilac!" he mewed happily. His gaze moved to her. "Pepper." Pepper smiled. Had she just imagined the softer, gentler tone to his voice when he'd seen her? No, she hadn't, because when she looked to her left, Lilac was smiling away like she knew a secret no one else could guess. Pepper looked back to Ravenpaw, who was softly grinning at her, and for a moment she thought he was going to say something, but he only smiled. _Good enough for me._

Barley rounded the corner from another haystack closer to them, smiling. "We'd started to wonder where you'd gotten to." He pressed his muzzle against Lilac's after a small greeting from her. Pepper could hear Lilac purr, and she was sure that Ravenpaw could hear it from where he stood at least ten tail-lengths away. She snuck a glance at him, and saw that he was smiling as big as she was.

Barley padded away with Lilac, his eyes holding a new softness. "You two got back just in time," He sat down in the hay. "Ravenpaw and I hunted the day away while you two slackers took the day off."

Pepper scoffed, and flung a clawful of dust and hay in his direction. He hissed good-naturedly. She laughed and started for the miniature fresh-kill pile stacked by her self-claimed haystack.

"Wait," Ravenpaw leaped down from his perch and stepped toward her. She stopped and faced him, wondering what he could possibly want.

The black tom, didn't say anything at first, just shifting from paw to paw, looking a bit awkward and a lot anxious. "Uh," he started. Pepper suppressed a small chuckle. "I was wondering if you, uh…" His eyes flicked up, then down, then up again and stayed, locked to hers. "Wanted to go on a walk with me?" The nervousness had gone from his eyes, leaving just tenseness and another feeling that Pepper couldn't quite place.

The brown tabby she-cat stayed silent at first, caught a little off-guard, her mouth opening and closing a few times when the words didn't come. Ravenpaw added hurriedly, "Well, if you wanted to eat, that's fine. I mean…" He didn't finish his sentence, only nodding as if that were more than words could ever mean.

Pepper shook her head. "No, no, I mean… Sure, I—I'd love to."

Ravenpaw smiled. "Okay. Well, uh, let's go."

"Okay."

They walked out of the barn side by side, and along the worn path through the woods she had been on just a few minutes ago with Lilac. Only this time was different. This time, the dry, dusty old path felt like starshine, and every step she took sent tingles through her legs, every brush of his night-black fur against her dingy brown one. Pepper looked at Ravenpaw as their friendly conversation on the barn animals came to a pause. The sun was setting behind him, and his dark fur shone with gold, a beautiful contrast, with more soft golden light leaking out around his profile and his eyes, just barely visible, looked like setting suns themselves. He was beautiful, like an angel, and Pepper was again painfully aware of how ugly she was.

Ravenpaw looked at her, and she quickly looked away. She waited to hear his voice, saying, "Pep, why are you staring at me?" or maybe just "Uh… Pepper?", and then she'd feel like a silly love-bird. She waited, but the words didn't come to her ears. Instead, Ravenpaw's warm, sweet breath did, ruffling the fur by her head.

"Follow me. I want to show you something." The brief moment of delicacy stayed there, hung in the air for a moment, and then it was gone as Ravenpaw dashed off into the fern.

"Ravenpaw…" Pepper's voice trailed off and she raced after him, dodging trees and ducking branches as she almost frantically tried to keep the black tail-tip from leaving her sight. Ahead she could hear Ravenpaw's warm laughter, but it wasn't mocking. It was the kind of laughter you laugh when you're not really amused, but simply enjoying your moment. The realization sprung pleasure in Pepper's head, almost making her dizzy, but she laughed too, clearing it and running faster until she had caught up with him.

Pepper almost slammed into Ravenpaw when he came into sight again, because he was standing still, waiting for her. She screeched to a halt, letting out a small "Oh!" when she thought she actually would barrel into him. When she didn't, Ravenpaw grinned and laid that elusive tail-tip of his on her shoulder.

"Don't worry about running into me, Pepper," he assured her. "I'm as strong as stone. Now come on." The last words were whispered, and he began to creep slowly and quietly through the undergrowth. Pepper followed him, being careful not to step on anything. She wondered what it might be, what he was showing her. Pepper let her imagination wander astray. It could be something important, if he had to take such caution approaching it.

As if he'd read her mind, Ravenpaw turned his head and meowed softly, "It's not dangerous or anything. I just want to make sure no one else is there."

_Why?_ Pepper's wonder turned to caution. As much as she felt for Ravenpaw, ideas that she didn't like started popping into her head. Along with the caution came bitter disappointment. Why was it that she _always_ had to be on her guard? She considered going back while she could.

"Here we are." _Too late._ Ravenpaw straightened, turning around. Pepper's distrust and wariness crumbled away as she saw the kit-like excitement in his yellow eyes that looked so much like suns, and shone with as much kindness. Pepper instantly felt horrible. Her imagination (or paranoia) had gotten the best of her. This was _Ravenpaw_, her best friend, and, to her, more—How could she have ever suspected him? He had never shown her anything but kindness—and, she hoped, more.

Ravenpaw's voice sounded again, pulling her out of her guilty thoughts. Pepper forced herself to be in the present again and looked at him. His face was softened with warmth and compassion. "I know you've never been out this far in the forest, but it's all right." He twined his tail with hers and pulled her gently. She took small steps forward, fixing her eyes on the thick undergrowth in front of her, knowing that they were going to step through them. She again wondered what was on the other side.

Ravenpaw stepped forward and pushed them aside for her. Pepper gasped. There before her was a tiny clearing, filled with purple and pink and yellow light from the sunset beyond the edge of the trees. Long grass ringed the perimeter with tall orange wildflowers springing from it.

Pepper took a step into it, softly, as if it could break into a thousand pieces if she were too careless with such a beautiful thing. Shorter, downy-soft grass caressed her tired pads like tiny brushes of feathers, and every step felt effortless, as if the ground was carrying her paws across itself for her. Tiny royal purple violets adorned the grass, and Pepper tried not to step on them, the occasional taller blue or pink wildflower brushing against her as she veered around, carefully placing her paws just the right way.

On the far right of the clearing, fresh water ran from an unseen source in the trees and tumbled noisily down a collection of rocks before splashing into a bubbling brook, streaming along in a straight line and veering off to the right again, disappearing into the woods.

"It's so lovely," Pepper barely recognized the voice as her own, soft and amazed. Ravenpaw didn't reply, but she heard him purr.

Pepper looked to her left and gasped again, but this time, in horror. To the far left of the clearing, the long grass stopped and revealed the stone edge of a cliff—overlooking a forest that lay crumbled in ruins. Moors were dry, stripped of their grass and bushes, and not even the dust that lay everywhere stirred with any hopes of wind. Dark pine trees lay flattened, folded in on top of one another, as if they were all lying down together, praying for life. A marshy plain look encrusted with rubbish, the once-healthy-looking wetness reduced to crusted mud. A river had gone dry, leaving nothing but dry banks and fish skeletons. And a woodland—a once-beautiful woodland—lay destroyed. Somehow this hurt even more than the rest of the ruin. The trees had lost most of their leaves, and the rest hung limply off their branches. The groaning trees themselves leaned against anything that was there to support them. The entire circle of terrain looked utterly dead.

"This is where the Clans once lived." Ravenpaw finished. Pepper looked at him through eyes that were starting to fill up with tears. The Clans had lived here? She looked back at the destruction. Yes, she could picture the land as it once was. Lively, free: a sweeping moorland, rolling hills and dry heather bushes tugged at helplessly by an unseen wind. Darkness shadowing the points of pine trees that jabbed up like needles or sharp rocks. A marsh with the thick river rushing luxuriously through it. And beyond them all, a thick, lush forest that seemed teeming with life even at such a distance. For a moment, the lovely scene stayed in her head, but then faded, leaving only the ruin for her to flinch from. How had this happened?

Again, like he could read her mind, Ravenpaw answered her question. "The Clans' home was destroyed moons ago. By the Twolegs." Pepper tried to blink against the tearing that were turning his figure into a shapeless black fog, but couldn't. Ravenpaw's voice was emotionless, and it disturbed her to see the happy, energetic tom so different in this way. "Their camps, their territories… Everything they once knew, falling down on top of them."

Pepper's eyes widened, only making room for more tears. "You don't mean they—"

"No, they weren't killed." Ravenpaw paused. "Okay, maybe a few. But the rest were fine," he added quickly, hearing Pepper's shocked whimper. He still hadn't looked at her, pain and bittersweetness harsh in his tone. "The Clans were forced to evacuate. They stayed at the barn for a night," (Normally this thought would have fascinated Pepper.) "And then they went on in search of a new home. For all of them." Ravenpaw finally turned to face her, and alarm immediately lit in his face when he saw her small trembling body and her wide, tear-filled eyes.

"Pepper!" He mewed, and moved to her side, pressing his pelt very close to hers and rubbing his muzzle against her own. "Pepper…"

Pepper blinked and let the excess tears roll down her face. She knew that Ravenpaw must have been getting wet too, but he didn't say anything. "Ravenpaw…" she started, staring at the ground a few steps in front of her. "Did they ever find a home? The Clans?"

Ravenpaw hesitated. Pepper waited for him to say "I don't know, Pepper…" or "No, Pep, they didn't." and waited for the tears to come again, more this time. She waited—but they never came. Instead, Ravenpaw curled his warm, strong body around her and murmured, "Yes, Pepper. I'm sure they did. I'm sure."

Pepper blinked again and rested her face on his shoulder. He nestled her head in the curve of his neck. For a moment, Pepper felt that unknown feeling she had seen in Ravenpaw's eyes earlier (which seemed so long ago now), stronger than it had ever been before. It was in the air, it ran in her veins—it was honest and true.

Pepper felt a small surge of courage, but that was enough for her. She began to unbury her face to look at the woeful scene again, but Ravenpaw stopped her before she could even catch a glimpse.

"Pepper," he whispered. Something in her heart moved. To hear her voice spoken with such tenderness, such care, made her want to laugh, cry, scream, and fly all at once. "Don't look." He finished. Pepper didn't look. But she did let him steer her away from the cliff and back to the clearing, where they lay surrounded by the wildflowers and groomed each other until sleep claimed them both. Beyond where they slept, the scene of devastation by the cliff disappeared into the night, leaving only blackness, dark as the sky above them with no moon, and no trace of the misery that it had caused. Because the feeling in the air was too strong for it.

_*is trying really, really, really, really, really, really, REALLY hard not to cry* AWWWW! That was SO much fun to write! PEPPERXRAVEN FOR EVAHH! And OOOH OMG PRETTY CLEARING! And the destroyed forest was cool to write. I mean, it was sad, vewy vewy sad. =( But I thought it would be interesting to see what happened after the whole Twoleg thing. XP So anyways, please review and blah de blah…. LOL Tune in next time for the finale! ;D KTHANXBYE XD_


	13. Finale Thank you everyone!

_Well, everybody, here goes: The last, three-part chapter of Pepper, formerly known as A Raven's Peppered Wing. This story's been tough, but I hope you enjoy the ending as much as I enjoyed writing it. ;) And here's the THREE-PART CHAPPEH! Enjoy! =D_

Pepper

Finale: Part One

The sun broke over two pelts curled closely together and filled a flower-littered clearing with washy yellow light as one of the cats shifted and rose, her brown tabby fur rippling as she did so.

"Pepper…?" The small tabby turned at the sound of her name, and smiled warmly to see the other cat sitting up, still disoriented with sleep and shaking his black pelt, scattering little petals and bits of grass.

"Ravenpaw…" The name was sweet on Pepper's tongue, and she inched closer to him, pressing her muzzle into his neck, expecting a purr. After last afternoon… She was sure that he loved her.

The day before, Ravenpaw had taken her to the beautiful clearing she was in now, a gesture of thoughtfulness that had touched Pepper's heart. And even when he uncovered the true fate of the Clans to her, she had been comforted by him. And now she was here, with him in this spot, in this moment when everything was right—she never wanted to leave, her heart pounding hard in her chest.

But to her surprise and budding dismay, Ravenpaw didn't return her affectionate good morning with another, but stiffened. He opened his mouth, but no words came out. Pepper blinked at him, concerned and starting to worry for herself and her own special moments, selfishly.

"What's wrong, Ravenpaw?"

Ravenpaw scooted backward a little bit, distancing himself from her, and scuffled his paws on the color-dappled ground. It was then that Pepper realized that he didn't love her after all, but it didn't thoroughly click. Her emotions denied it, shoved it away, and took over her actions.

Ravenpaw spoke; his voice was quietly nervous. "Pepper…" His mouth began to form words, but they were lost to him again. He restarted. "W-We're… just… friends, right? Still—Still friends?"

_No! No, no, no! Don't say that! No, you're not supposed to—it's not supposed to happen this way! No, no, no, no, no, don't say that _ever_!_ Pepper's emotions shrieked madly in her head, refusing to believe what was apparently the truth, straight from the one cat that Pepper needed to be happy forever. She wanted to scream at him, not in anger, but in central grief and frustration at her own stupidity. How she had believed that she could have possibly _had_ him. But she let her wits take the rein, and only smiled and said, "Of course. Still friends."

Ravenpaw hesitated and looked almost crestfallen, only for the tiniest moment, so tiny that only Pepper would have seen, and she did—but then the friendly smile returned to his face, same as always. Pepper dismissed it.

"It's just," he explained. "I know everything about you,"—Pepper winced—"And you know everything about me. We're best friends, and I haven't had a best friend since… Since I left the Clans. And you make me feel so much better than I do a lot of the time when I think of them."

_There_ must_ be a reason for that! You _must_ love me! _But Pepper knew her emotions spoke only what she wanted to hear from the handsome black tom. She smiled, only a hint of the vast, impending sadness she felt, only displaying a tiny bit in hopes that he would notice. But as she had overlooked his pause just now, he must have done the same, because he got up and shook his fur, inviting her back to the barn and to hunt on the way home, because Barley and Lilac would never save anything for them, jokingly.

Pepper barely heard them, barely talked on the walk back. She barely talked all day, because she couldn't get rid of the nagging feeling that something was missing from her. She knew it was Ravenpaw, but she could never get that. And to think that she had been _so close_, like a claw just nicking the tail feather of a bird as it fluttered away, and then it was slipping away… It tore a hole in her heart. Or, a bigger one than Ravenpaw had already torn—which, in a way, she was grateful for. The tear was the only evidence that he _had_ touched her heart, even if it was in the harshest way possible.

Part Two

_Whooooooosshhh….. Crash! Whooshhhh…. Plink, plink… Bang!_

Pepper jolted awake as a thundering bash sounded on the barn door, more from that than the howling windstorm outside. The small she-cat attempted to blink the sleep remaining in her eyes. It was late, that much she knew. Another pound pummeled her ears.

She immediately scrambled to her paws, forgetting the bittersweet dream she'd been having. She'd been running carelessly through trees, weaving her body around every obstacle, and Ravenpaw had been following her and laughing. She'd stopped and faced him, and he'd pressed close to her, both purring, their tails twined inseparably in love…

But that wasn't even real. It had been days since the… happening, as Pepper referred to it. Only to herself, though. Ravenpaw had approached her several times and apologized for nothing, asking if he'd been too weird that evening and the following morning. She'd smiled and said of course not, and they'd gone hunting together as friends, just like they'd always had.

_Pepper!_ The tabby shook herself. She had to at least _try_ to stop thinking of a life with him, let alone dreaming of one. She didn't have to silence her irrational emotions herself. Another loud bang sounded at the door and she jumped. The three other cats around had awaken. Barley rose to his paws slowly, stiff and still with wariness. Lilac glanced around her in confusion, as if whatever was outside trying to get in was already surrounding her. Ravenpaw leaped from his bale of hay to hers.

"Pepper!" He called as he jumped, and clambered up to her. She met his perplexed yellow eyes with baffled light brown ones, her own.

"What is tha—" She never got to finish her sentence. The doors to the barn blasted open, and the figure of a large, threatening giant stood in the doorway, a bottle clutched in his hand. Pepper recognized her Twoleg in a second. Panic gripped her tightly and terror washed over her like the icy cold rain and wind that was pounding in sheets outside. Ravenpaw was very still beside her, his muscles tense.

"Don't… move… a muscle…" He whispered slowly, carefully to Pepper. She silently laughed humorlessly. As if she _could_ move now. The Twoleg was staggering around, bellowing random words that Pepper didn't understand and thrashing his hands in the hay. As he approached, Ravenpaw crouched down swiftly, motioning urgently for Pepper to do the same. She did—but not before the Twoleg had gotten close enough to see her, and did.

Whether or not her Twoleg remembered his old kittypet was unknown to Pepper, but that seemed irrelevant as he lunged toward her with grimy, unforgiving hands that she remembered so well. She heard her three companions screech her name, but didn't listen. Immediately feeling adrenaline take over, she darted away from him and ran sightlessly through the barn, dodging anything that happened to be in her way and cursing it for getting there in the first place. The shock of seeing him suddenly didn't matter anymore, now replaced by the terrified urgency to get away from him. Pepper had lived her whole life in fear of something like this happening; and she knew what the Twoleg might do to her if he caught her, if he was angry enough. She could die.

Thunderous footsteps close behind Pepper told her that the Twoleg was following her, and keeping up well, too. She tried to lose him, weaving nimbly through anything she could see, but he just knocked it angrily over. Then he was on her.

Pepper first felt his snatched her tail and yank her harshly backward. She screamed in pain. She heard another yowl, but it seemed far away and unimportant, like it didn't belong to her. The human then grabbed hold of her scruff, clasping his fingers hard in her skin and she squirmed, crying out again when he tightened his grip and shook her. Déjà vu of the day she escaped him swarmed her, and she wasn't sure that she could get away this time.

A deafening screech split the air and Pepper opened her eyes, which had been squeezed tightly shut, in time to see a blur of night land on the Twoleg's head, clawing at his face and yowling protests in fury. Pepper felt her mouth gape open and her heart tense. It was Ravenpaw.

Her moment of hopeful anxiety was short-lived as the man flung her away. She bounced off of a pile of hay and hit the ground hard, but not as hard as she'd have expected. She blew a piece of straw from her face and looked up to see the Twoleg trying to wrestle a howling Ravenpaw from his face. He raised a fist and hit him hard and Pepper saw him drop to the ground, shaking his head as if to clear it. The Twoleg still leaned over him and raised up a foot over the tom. Pepper could see what was about to happen before it did. Without thinking, she bolted forward and attacked his leg before its foot could come crashing down onto Ravenpaw's back. The Twoleg yelled and staggered backward. He grabbed at her, trying to pull her off, but she held tight with her claws, sinking them farther into his flesh and feeling them scrape bone. She hissed and spat. All that, however, only made the man angrier. He snatched her up and she felt his fingers dig into her ribs. She shrieked and was slammed hard into the ground as the Twoleg threw her again. Her head hit a rock. Stars danced over her eyes and fogginess threatened a blackout. She struggled for consciousness, like fighting to stay above water in a rushing current.

"_Leave her alone!"_ Pepper heard the yowl through the haze, she saw Ravenpaw leap back at the lumbering human. This time he was joined by a pale gray figure. _Lilac!_

"N-No… Don't… You…," Unintelligible words tumbled out of Pepper's mouth as they tried to form protests and warning. The tall gray she-cat didn't react, and Pepper had never seen Lilac this angry. She bit and snarled and clawed until the Twoleg screeched with pain—a protectiveness had taken over her that Pepper hadn't noticed before.

"Get away from her, you… you…!" Lilac finished the sentence with another snarl and clawed harder. A black and white ball rammed into them from behind and sank its teeth into the Twoleg's shoulder. _Barley, too?_ For just a fazed second, Pepper was shockingly touched at the lengths these cats had gone to to help her.

Suddenly Ravenpaw was beside her where she lay on the ground, her head still fuzzy. His golden eyes bored into her own, holding anxiety and… something else. His chest heaved from the effort of fighting the Twoleg, and his fur stood on end.

"Pepper?" His voice shook, but Pepper didn't care. His wonderful voice was all she wanted to hear. But even as he spoke, darkness had begun to creep in on the edges of her vision, tempting Pepper to close her eyes and drift away.

She must have closed them, at least a little bit, because Ravenpaw curled himself around her small body and held her tight. "No, Pepper, please…" With her fur pressed against his, she felt his every movement. His heart pounded through his chest. He was trembling. Pepper opened her eyes more and saw that his were wide and terrified. Terrified of losing her? His eyes said that much.

With a jolt and a yowl, Ravenpaw was suddenly pulled away from her. Pepper's eyes were raised to floor of the barn. Lilac was lying unconscious at one end, and Barley was struggling to get over to her from another end. Ravenpaw was being dangled by the Twoleg by one hand, but the man wasn't yelling or hitting him. Just holding him there in a sickly kind of triumph. Terrors washed over her, not only for Ravenpaw, but just simply… fear. She could barely stand the fear that was gripping her and shaking her and freezing her to the bone, then burning her blistered. She wanted to scream until her lungs turned inside out, the fear was so great.

The Twoleg tossed Ravenpaw aside like a toy, and he luckily landed on a bale of hay, unhurt. Pepper didn't relax any more. Time seemed to slow down, as if terror had placed everything in slow motion. The Twoleg began to thunder toward her, and her fear grew and grew with every step he took.

She exploded. Inside and out. From a distance, she heard herself let out a blood-curdling shriek. Her legs started moving (almost by themselves) at the speed of light towards the door that still hung open. She was running away. After all that she'd done, running away? Her mind never stayed on her legs. A horrible trust was placed in them to run wherever they needed to while she thought in her own secluded world. As she ran out of the barn, a cat called out in protest. She didn't know who, and didn't care. Steps sounded behind her, and she sped up. As soon as she set paw outside the barn doors, wind and icy rain buffeted her little body. She ignored it. She ran and ran, and ran and ran. The steps did not cease. She ran past the trail she walked with her friends, past the trees, past even the clearing that she'd been in days ago. And even then they didn't stop. She blocked it out and kept going, like a broken machine with nothing else it knew how to do. Only until the trees around her were unfamiliar, only when a worry of getting lost clicked in her mind did she slow down. And only when she came to a black, charred, ashen, and horribly, achingly familiar place did she stop.

Dull shock held her in place, and for that second, no sound and no movement mattered. Not even the steps that had followed her this whole way. The bushes behind her shuddered, and she didn't move. Ravenpaw's scent swirled around her. The steps must have been his. But she didn't pay attention to the tom's touch, or his voice saying her name. All of her senses were focused on the clearing she was in now—the clearing she recognized as her home, on the exact spot where it had burned.

A den made of fern and draping willow branches weaved with flowers to make a tiny nursery for Branch and Julianne's daughters, still stood, only partly demolished and covered in soot. The petals were shriveled and scattered everywhere. The sticks were charred and the bark peeled off of them, revealing open wood like a raw cut into flesh. All the ferns were reduced to their stems, the tips twisted and black. Pepper blinked in grief, tears painlessly surfacing to her wide eyes. The wind and the rain had stopped, but bitter cold still gripped the air. The sky above her was blanketed with heavy gray clouds, and Pepper let out a small breath. Her breath clouded before her. With that, tiny snowflakes began to drift down from the carpeted sky. Pepper's whole world was suddenly black and white.

"Pepper…?" Ravenpaw's voice sounded behind her. She silently acknowledged it, but still said nothing. A snowflake floated grimly past her nose. She was aware of them landing all over her pelt, each with a delicate cold sting, so delicate that she barely felt it. They danced around her, white little flakes like ash.

"_Momma… Daddy?"_

_The white ash floating in the air gave her no answer. Nor did the rubble left by the fire, some branches still glowing with embers._

"_Momma!"_

_Just silence._

"_Daddy!"_

_Nothing._

"_Pixie?" Surely… Surely _Pixie_ wasn't…_

_Still quietude. Pepper sat down, aware of what happened but not truly accepting it._

_A rustle in the fallen branches jumped Pepper. Her eyes widened._

"_Oh…"_

_With a whimper, she ran into the trees._

Pepper didn't run this time. Only stared around her in grief and loss, and strangely… contentedness. She was home. She was home now, in her black and white world.

"Pepper."

The tabby turned her head. Ravenpaw was right beside her. She smiled sadly. He fit perfectly in her world, except for his eyes. His eyes stood out like a defiance against nature.

"Ravenpaw… This is my home." She mewed, looking into his bright eyes. They were unreadable. _No matter._ It was time for the truth. He deserved it, if nothing else. "I never lived in a forest. My family never did all those things; we just lived here. We were happy. And… then…" Her voice caught in her throat where a lump had started to form. Pepper was a little surprised when the tears started to roll down her face. She didn't even feel that sad. Only regretful that she hadn't told Ravenpaw all this before. "Then there was a fire. I don't even know what started it. But… it happened. And it all burned down." She looked from Ravenpaw's beautiful, glistening golden eyes to the wreckage that was now covered by a thin, thin white dust of fine snow. "My father… Branch… He threw me out. Then it collapsed on them… and not me." She shuddered, pain resurfacing. And she'd thought she'd escaped it. "Not me…" A sob leaked from her chest and she turned back to the black tom. "Ravenpaw, I'm sorry I lied to you, I just… I didn't want to tell you the truth about me. I'm too ashamed of it. My past…" Pepper tried to swallow the painful knob in her throat and failed. "That Twoleg back in the barn… I belonged to him. He… he hit me, so… I ran away and you found me. But I…" She struggled, lost for words. "Ravenpaw… Ravenpaw, I'm sorry…"

Ravenpaw stayed still for a while; he had been still the whole time. Then he slowly raised his tail-tip and brushed her cheek, a tender gesture that almost swept Pepper off her paws despite its gentleness. Then, somehow, his muzzle was pressed to hers.

Ravenpaw's eyes were closed, and his chest shook as it rose and fell. Pepper could barely breathe.

"Pepper…" His voice was filled with an emotion Pepper had never heard in his voice before and just the tiniest bit of exasperation. His eyes opened and they were as big and bright as ever. "Pepper, I already _knew_."

Pepper felt her mouth drop open and her eyes go wide. "But… But you…"

Ravenpaw grazed her mouth with his tail. "Pepper… I've been through so much in my life. Maybe not as much as the next cat, but I know when somebody is telling a story." Seeing Pepper's hurt expression, he immediately continued, almost desperately, "But I didn't care. You weren't the only one who had covered up a truth. Look at me; I lied about Tigerclaw because I didn't want to get killed. I was selfish—I was willing to let a murder go on longer than he should… because I valued my life too much. I was weak."

Pepper was horrified. "No! No, you aren't!" she protested.

"Not now." He raised his eyes to hers and they were brimming with a strange kind of sadness. "Not now that I have you." He took a deep breath before resuming, "Pepper, you've made me feel stronger than I've ever felt in my life. You've… I don't know. I don't even know what you did, but everything is right when you're with me." His golden eyes, so much like suns, were burning into hers. "When we talked that morning, in the clearing, I lost my head. I got scared. I didn't know what would happen if we were… if we were together. I though maybe something could happen between us that was bad, and I'd lose you forever. Right then, I lost the strength that you gave me for a minute, and now…" His voice caught, and Pepper held her breath. "Now I've been sulking around the farm for days, hating myself for hurting you. Pepper…"

She threw herself at him, pressing her face against his and curling her body close. He merely swayed lightly against her and did the same. It was in that moment that everything was the definition of happy, and this time, for both of them. The snow had stopped.

"Pepper," Ravenpaw wasn't finished. "I knew you were lying, but I didn't say anything because…" His warm eyes glowed and Pepper knew what he was going to say before he said it. "I love you, Pepper. I love you, more than anything else or anyone else in the world. And I promise that I'll always love you like my life depends on it. Because… it does."

Pepper laughed, tears springing to her eyes, but this time in happiness. She'd never cried out of happiness before; she couldn't say that she didn't enjoy it. "I love you too. And… I'll be here. All the time, whenever you need me."

They stayed like that for a long time, pressed together and simply loving each other for the moment with just them. Pepper felt as if she were about to burst with love, and when she did, it would come showering down on them. _Even better._ She had a new world, she thought, as the sun broke over the trees and lit the snow to glittering silver and her love's eyes to shining gold. The black and white one would forever remain in her memory, but she had to _live_ in this one. And here… there was no such thing as bad. Ravenpaw's eyes had begun to glisten and he traced the edge of her face with his tail.

"You're so beautiful…" he murmured, more to himself than to anyone else. Pepper laughed a little and looked down at herself. The sun had lit her light brown tabby pelt to a glowing bronze. Silver, gold and bronze… A world of riches.

A sudden crashing exploded from the bushes beside them. They both jumped. Pepper looked at Ravenpaw, her eyes wide. "The Twoleg…" she whispered frantically. It was the only explanation she could think of at the time. Ravenpaw immediately tensed, a fierce light lit in his eyes, prepared to throw himself in front of anything that dared threaten his beloved.

The undergrowth parted, but two feline shapes greeted them instead of a giant, lumbering human. Pepper sighed in relief, and she felt Ravenpaw relax beside her.

"Barley," he gasped. "Lilac… Where's the Twoleg?"

It was Barley who answered. "Gone. The humans at the barn _finally_ woke up and got out there. Some other people took him away. I get the feeling he won't be bothering anyone anym—,"

He broke off as he looked to his left, to Lilac. Pepper followed his gaze. The lanky she-cat was gazing around her with huge eyes, huger than usual. Her body was tense as she took a few steps forward, until she was standing in front of the half-rubble of the old den. She turned to face the others, her face softly silhouetted in the washy pink light of dawn. Her lavender eyes were filled with a vague disorientation, but mostly strong recognition Déjà vu hit Pepper again, like it did whenever she saw Lilac a particular way. But this time her chest tightened, because she knew why.

Lilac spoke. Her voice was shaky but certain. "This is…" Pepper finished her sentence with her, their voices blending together as family. "… My home." Pepper swallowed hard as Lilac stepped toward her.

"Pepper…"

Pepper was silent for a few seconds and then rushed to Lilac with a cry of:

"_Pixie!_" The two she-cats barreled into each other. Lilac was sobbing, and Pepper was only letting her mouth gape open in a silent yowl of joy. It must have been _her_ Pepper had seen after the fire, that shift in the branches. If only she'd stayed there...

But then nothing would have ever been the same. She may have never stayed with the Twoleg, and then she'd had never met Ravenpaw. She inwardly shuddered. A life without Ravenpaw seemed almost unbearable, even if she wouldn't have known what she was missing from herself the whole time. But none of that mattered. Right now, Ravenpaw and Barley were staring open-mouthed at the scene unfolding in front of them.

"Pixie?" Barley seemed incapable of blurting out anything else at the moment, and the sisters laughed.

"Ravenpaw, Barley," Pepper started. "This is my sister…"

Part Three

"Mommy! Mommy, Daddy, let's go see 'em!"

"Come on, Dad! Mom's faster than you are!"

Pepper raised her head to see Lilac and Barley's two kits, Lucky and Hare, running at what seemed like the speed of light toward her nest at the base of a hay pile, with Barley and Lilac themselves following more slowly behind. She smiled. No doubt they were coming to see the new arrivals, she assumed, lovingly looking down at the four—yes, _four_—scrunched-up, newborn bundles of fur lying close to her. Ravenpaw sat close to her, his chest puffed out with pride. He leaned down and gave her another nuzzle and whispered, "They're wonderful," in her ear for the umpteenth time that day. But Pepper didn't mind. It was true.

The bright spring sunlight shone blindingly outside, and Pepper cast her tail up to create a little shade for her darlings. The little gingery-brown one squirmed, nudging his black and white mottled sister, who set off a chain reaction of shifting in her two other brothers, the light gray one and the dark gray one.

She looked up to see Lucky peeking over her tail; the mother lowered it a bit so she could see. The little she-cat's clover-patched black and white fur fluffed up with excitement.

"Ooh, they're so cute!" she squealed.

"Well," Ravenpaw put in. "They haven't really changed since you saw them last. When was that, five seconds ago?"

Hare laughed as he caught up, then turned to lick down a spiked tuft of gray fur. Barley and Lilac were last to arrive.

"They really are great, Ravenpaw." Lilac mewed and licked Pepper's ear. She blinked affectionately. Lilac had decided to keep her newest name, and understandably so; she hadn't gone by the name of Pixie in years. Though she still missed having her birth name, it wasn't practical to learn to go by something else. Lilac was all about practicality.

After seeing her old home, everything had come back to the she-cat—a heavy branch, a significant part of the den's canopy, had crashed down onto Lilac, bringing with it a big section of the roof itself. It had trapped her and knocked her out for days, but it had kept her from the rest of the fire.

Barley nodded to them both and started to herd his two children away. "Come on, you two. I told I'd show you the hunting crouch, remember?" The kits cheered and darted away without a protest. Pepper chuckled; those two never stayed with their minds on just one thing for very long at all. Lilac, shaking her head in mock embarrassment, followed them all with a farewell wave of the tail.

When they'd gone, Ravenpaw settled down beside his mate. Pepper smiled at the feeling of his pelt against hers. She'd gotten used to his warmth always seeping into her fur, though she never took a second with him for granted.

"We haven't named them." Pepper pointed out absent-mindedly.

"I know." Ravenpaw bit his lip, obviously brainstorming decent names. Pepper grinned.

"Would you like to name two of them Fire and Gray?" she asked. "After your friends?"

Ravenpaw looked up at her, his eyes wide in surprise. "You… Really? You—You mean that?"

"Of course. I think they're good names." She smiled, and so did Ravenpaw.

"Okay, then." He nosed the ginger-brown tom. "Fire," he mewed, and then the light gray tom. "And Gray." He sat back, a satisfied smile on his face. "Your turn."

Pepper turned her eyes to the two remaining kits, unnamed and innocent. She licked the tom and the she-kit in turn. "Branch… and Julianne."

Ravenpaw pressed his muzzle against her. "Beautiful."

Pepper purred. Looking back, she couldn't think of anytime she'd been so happy. Looking back, she wouldn't have believed she'd be here now. That was then. Pepper was grown now, a mother, a mate, and an entirely new cat because of it all. She raised her eyes to Ravenpaw's, shining like the sun, and looking into them was just like looking outside on a spring day. She closed her eyes, and blackness replaced the sight, but now she knew that it would still be there when she opened them. No more uncertainty. Pepper blinked. Everything was right in her new, beautiful world.

_Wow. This was quite the adventure, wasn't it? I can't believe how long I would put these chapters off. I feel really guilty saying that too. XD And all I know is that I am NEVER writing a full-blown romance story EVER AGAIN! XD But I wanted to thank everybody who's ever been nice enough to take the time and review. They mean so much, especially on rough stories like this one._

_Jellyspoons_

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_And, yes, even the truly beloved flamers. Let's face the truth, guys—Fanfiction wouldn't ever be the same without them!_

_Sithstrukk_

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_And now some honorable mentions!_

_To: Oo-Rainpath-oO! Even if you didn't always have all the time in the world to PM me back, you're still my best long-distance buddy! Your ideas for new chapters were always welcome. FF BUDDIES FOREVER! =D_

_To: PinkRhinosLoveWicked! You are HILARIOUS, and your constant encouragement throughout the whole story was so great. You're "Defying Gravity"! ;D_

_To: Random person in ur bushes! Okay, not picking favorites here—but I think I have the most to thank you for. You talked to me 24/7 and always told me not to give up. I love how we come to each other with ideas, and your stories are awesome! Thanks for always being there!_

_And now… *drumroll* *epic voice* All you others may not know this, but a one certain reviewer has gone to the max and given me HUGE ideas, like the Lilac character and the names of the kits. These great ideas became part of the story in the end, SO! A whopping, ginormous, awesome, huge-ish, BIG thanks goes to: xoxo fanfics! You took the time to put in your two cents, and it did pay off didn't it? The success of this story with the Lilac character and all your other suggestions is now pretty much because of you. Thank you again!_

_And wow, when I look at this list of reviewers, I feel like a complete jerk for asking for more. I hope you guys will excuse my childish greediness. XP But in any case, the story's done now. And I'm afraid that with me starting a new school year at—DUN DUN DUNNN—a NEW SCHOOL, I won't have much time for writing fanfictions anymore. But don't give up on me yet! I may publish something here and there. It all depends. We'll just have to wait and see. So again, so many thank you's go to the wonderful reviewers, the super-important flamers, and the bestest buddehs. ;) And now I think it's safe to end it with… Say it with me, crowd!_

_KTHANXBYE! XD_

Signed,

The Amazing Teenage Disappearing Act ~~~ Macey-the-Invisible


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